Esconde a la abuela en la nevera

Having seen hundreds of Italian films during the pandemic, most being from the past decade, I can say that this is one that hits the target within its own, moderate scope.

Though I watched it several months ago, felt the need to put a review only now because today on Rai News they were talking about one similar incident in which a mid-aged man had kept his mom buried into the wall of his apartment for two years, just to keep collecting her retirement payments.

So, the basic premise of the film is not bogus at all. There really are people who pull this kind of scheme.

The story is well put together as we get convinced enough by the protagonist's (the breathtaking Miriam Leone) motivation for placing the fresh corpse of her grandma into the freezer.

On the other end of the lever, we have an expert cop (Fabio De Luigi) that busts freak frauds of many sorts, providing us with quite a lot of visually and physically fun scenes. (One even reminded me of the legendary "L'armate di Brancaleone").

The "eternally single" cop is persuaded by his peers to go chase this gal whom he had met on the scene of an irrelevant crime. And so he does! But unbeknownst to him, the young woman believes she is his target not for private reasons, but for what she is hiding in the freezer!

How great is this!

Had it been worked on more, it could even come close to the pedestal on which will stay forever "There Is Something About Mary".

Well, hard to say it's THAT good, but thankfully it doesn't drag either, and the various storylines intersect quite smartly.

Now, this is one among dozens of films that aim to entertain the general public without creating marvels. So, it should be evaluated in the light of what it aims to do. Could have been a bit better, maybe even better paced, but well, it not only serves as passtime, but also remains momorable thanks to its very simple and interesting subject matter.

One more thing: The opening scene was really strange and I am not sure if it harms the movie in some way or helps build its wilder side. Because in this scene, our protagonist (a professional restorator of artwork) is seen in a museum pointing spray paint at a masterpiece, threatening the authorities that she'd spray it unless the piled up debts are paid to her. Ooops! What a daring thing to do! By itself, looks like a serious crime. However, this is not made an issue as the actual theme develops. One can both love how recklessly they opened the movie, or feel uncomfortable with how letting that one remain loose reflects on the overall level of realism (or lack thereof) in the following scenes.

Have I told that Miriam Leone is breathtaking?

Yeah, I have...